- NC: Students Walk Over a Mile to Vote After GOP Shut Down Campus Polling Places
Source: Common Dreams
“As early voting began for the state primaries, North Carolina college students found themselves walking more than a mile to cast their ballots after the Republican-controlled State Board of Elections closed polling places on their campuses. The board, which shifted to a 3-2 GOP majority, voted last month to close a polling site at Western Carolina University and to reject the creation of polling sites at two other colleges: the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC Greensboro), and the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), the largest historically [b]lack college in the nation. Each of these schools had polling places available on campus during the 2024 election. The decision, which came just weeks before early voting was scheduled to begin, left many of the 40,000 students who attend these schools more than a mile away from the nearest polling place.” (02/14/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/north-carolina-students-mile-voting
- UK, allied regimes say Russian political prisoner Navalny was murdered with dart frog poison
Source: Sky News [UK]
“Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison in Russia after being poisoned with a deadly toxin found in the skin of Ecuadorian dart frogs, the UK and other allies have [claimed]. The ‘barbaric’ act — using a neurotoxin that is classed as a chemical weapon — could only have been carried out by Vladimir Putin’s government, they said on Saturday. … Russian authorities have previously claimed the dissident’s death was not suspicious but had been caused as a result of ‘combined diseases,’ including an irregular heartbeat.” (02/14/26)
https://news.sky.com/story/navalny-died-after-being-poisoned-with-dart-frog-toxin-13507402
- Planned US-funded baby vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau blasted by WHO
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A now-halted plan to run a hepatitis B vaccine trial involving thousands of newborns in Guinea-Bissau has been criticised by the World Health Organization as ‘unethical.’ The US-funded study had sought to give one set of babies the vaccine at birth, while another would have had the shot delayed until six weeks of age. The WHO said it had ‘significant concerns’ about the plan, and described the birth-dose vaccine as ‘an effective and essential public health intervention, with a proven record.’ The US health department, headed by Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has questioned the effects of vaccines, had sought to use the trial to answer questions about the jab’s broader health effects. The WHO said on Friday that its concerns regarded the study’s scientific justification, ethical safeguards and consistency with established standards for research involving humans.” (02/14/26)
- KS: Kelly vetos anti-trans bill
Source: Kansas City Star
“Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill Friday that aims to police the use of bathrooms and other private spaces in government buildings. It would also revoke driver’s licenses that reflect transgender Kansans’ identities. Kelly used her veto message to denounce SB 244 as ‘poorly drafted legislation’ that would have ‘numerous and significant consequences’ beyond limiting trans people’s ability to ‘use the appropriate bathroom.’ ‘Under this bill: if your grandfather is in a nursing home in a shared room, as a granddaughter, you would not be able to visit him,’ Kelly said. ‘If your wife is in a shared hospital room, as a husband, you would not be able to visit her,’ she continued, adding that college dorm rooms and government-owned sports facilities would also fall under the bill.” (02/14/26)
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article314693745.html
- Collins backs GOP’s (SAVE) America Act requiring voter ID, on one condition
Source: New York Post
“Senate Republicans gained a key ally in their quest to enshrine voter ID into law, but the lawmaker’s support comes with a condition. A trio of lawmakers, led by Sen. Mike Lee [R-UT] have undertaken a campaign to convince their colleagues to support the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, working social media and closed-door meetings to secure the votes. The campaign has proven successful, with the cohort gaining a crucial vote from Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME], who announced that she would back the SAVE America Act, which recently passed the House. … Collins noted that she did not support the previous version of the bill, known simply as the SAVE Act, because it ‘would have required people to prove their citizenship every single time they cast a ballot.'” (02/14/26)
- MN: Lemon pleads not guilty in malicious prosecution for reporting on ICE protest
Source: Reuters
“Former CNN anchor Don Lemon pleaded not guilty on Friday in a criminal case stemming from his coverage of a protest at a Minnesota church against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Lemon entered the courthouse in St. Paul on Friday afternoon wearing a black suit. On his way in, he clapped his hands and waved to supporters, but did not respond to questions from reporters. … Lemon, now an independent journalist, livestreamed a protest against Trump’s deployment of thousands of armed immigration agents into Democratic-governed Minnesota’s biggest cities. The protest disrupted a January 18 service at Cities Church in St. Paul. He was charged with conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights and violating a law that has been used to crack down on demonstrations at abortion clinics but also forbids obstructing access to houses of worship.” (02/13/26)
- Cuba: Cigar festival called off as US blockade worsens energy crisis
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“An annual cigar festival in Cuban capital Havana has become the latest casualty of a fuel shortage caused by a US oil blockade. The organising committee of the Festival del Habano announced on Saturday that this year’s event – which was due to take place over five days in late February – would be postponed until further notice. It said the decision was ‘motivated by the complex economic situation’ facing Cuba due to the ‘economic, commercial and financial blockade’ by the US. A fuel shortage causing power cuts on the Caribbean island has been worsened by the US seizing oil shipments from Cuba’s long-standing ally Venezuela. Cuba also has a shortage of aviation fuel, leading several airlines to suspend services there, while some countries, including the UK, have warned against non-essential travel to the island.” (02/14/26)
- A “ring of fire” solar eclipse will dazzle people and penguins in Antarctica
Source: SFGate
“The first solar eclipse of the year will grace Antarctica, and only a lucky few will get to bask — or waddle — in its glow. Tuesday’s annular solar eclipse, known as a ‘ring of fire’, will only be visible in the southernmost continent, home to research stations and diverse wildlife. ‘The penguins down there are going to have a great show,’ said astronomer Joe Llama with Lowell Observatory. Clear skies permitting, more people can catch a partial eclipse with small bites taken out of the sun from the tips of Chile and Argentina and bits of southeastern Africa including Madagascar, Lesotho and South Africa. Solar eclipses happen when the sun, moon and Earth align just so. The moon casts a shadow that can partially or totally block out the sun’s light from Earth.” (02/13/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/a-ring-of-fire-solar-eclipse-will-dazzle-people-21351817.php
- Germany: The spectacular multimillion-euro heist nobody noticed
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“It has been described as Germany’s most ‘spectacular’ bank heist in years. On a quiet weekend just after Christmas, a group of thieves broke into a High Street bank in the western town of Gelsenkirchen, by boring through a wall with an industrial drill. They looted more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes and made off with millions of euros. Over a month later, police have yet to make an arrest. For the bank’s clients, some of whom say they have lost their life savings and precious family jewellery and valuables, this is a time of anger, confusion and shock. There is a strong sense that trust in institutions has been shaken. The case has thrown up all sorts of difficult questions, and some of them have been spelled out by Herbert Reul, the interior minister in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.” (02/14/26)
- Syria: US forces strike alleged Islamic State targets
Source: United Press International
“The U.S. military struck dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria while conducting retaliatory strikes for the deaths of two soldiers and their interpreter. CentCom said it conducted 10 strikes on more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria from Feb. 3 through Thursday to ‘sustain relentless military pressure on remnants from the terrorist network.’ The strikes over the past 1.5 weeks targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapons storage facilities with precision munitions sent by fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned aircraft, CentCom officials said.” (02/14/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/02/14/syria-us-strikes-isis/6561771120705/
- The “Board of Peace” Already Has a Corruption Problem
Source: The Realist Review
“Among the nine people Donald Trump named to his Board of Peace to run Gaza – which holds its first meeting in Washington DC February 19 – is billionaire private equity operator Marc Rowan. The board’s stated tasks include establishing financial controls and managing the reconstruction of a Gaza. You might think a savvy financier would bring solid credentials to such a job. You would be wrong. Let’s start with the obvious: this ‘Board’ is little more than a colonial operation—a modern day version of the British East India Company. And Marc Rowan is a perfect avatar for such an operation. Rowan runs Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, not with prudent stewardship but via a financial scheme that bears the hallmarks of two of history’s most infamous frauds: the accounting chicanery of Enron and the Ponzi dynamics of Bernie Madoff.” (02/15/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/the-board-of-peace-already-has-a
- Russell Vought Says “We are in a post constitutional moment in our country.” He’s Not Wrong.
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“Since voting is purely ceremonial affirmation of our masters’ authority over us, I don’t see that adding a card-flashing element to the liturgy makes much difference. I am, however, glad to see Trump once again reaffirming Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought’s 2022 observation that ‘we are in a post constitutional moment in our country.’ Vought says that like it’s a bad thing, calling on his audience to become ‘radical constitutionalists.’ His version of ‘radical constitutionalism,’ though, can’t be found anywhere in the actual Constitution. Instead of the mere functionary described in the Constitution, whose job is to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’ Vought envisions the president as Kim Jong Un on the Potomac. Which brings me back to voter ID.” (02/14/26)
- Lefty Kooks 1, Trump Gun Thugs 0
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson“The Trump administration has announced that it is abandoning its ‘surge’ — you’ll remember that term from the Iraq War — in Minneapolis. Other than two dead Americans, millions and millions of dollars in economic losses, and the further erosion of trust in armed federal agencies, what exactly has been accomplished? … at least one observer who had been very skeptical about the wisdom of so-called sanctuary city policies is now a little more sympathetic to those arrangements — and surely I am not the only one.” (02/13/26)
- The covid reality check for AI hype
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle“Covid-19 gave everyone a harsh lesson in the power of exponentials, and that memory haunts any analysis of artificial intelligence. Sure, everything looks fine — now. But then, everything also looked fine in early March 2020. By the end of the month, we were locked in our houses with our strategic reserves of toilet paper. In a viral essay on X this week, Otherside AI founder Matt Shumer draws the parallel explicitly. ‘I think we’re in the ‘this seems overblown’ phase of something much, much bigger than Covid,’ he writes, before launching into a description of what’s already here for coders: AI agents building ‘usually perfect’ software from a plain-English description. He’s predicting a world soon in which AI blows up software development and moves on to every other profession.” (02/13/26)
- There should be no partisan divide about naming Epstein’s fellow abusers
Source: Los Angeles Times
by LZ Granderson“The general public’s awareness of Epstein’s heinous crimes came with political baggage. However at this point, the question we all should wonder is: How does redacting the names of the men who helped fund Epstein’s operation benefit either political party? It may be good for the rich and powerful men trying to avoid accountability, but it’s not exactly a campaign platform. … We have seen Congress kept out of session to avoid voting on the release of the Epstein files; we have heard equivocation about whether Epstein was a pedophile. We know Epstein’s island was a place where evil resided. The investigation, or lack of investigation, into Epstein’s fellow abusers should not be seen by anyone as a political quandary in which the object of the game is to keep your party in power.” (02/14/26)
- Apparently you should not want what you do want
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall“The latest critique of capitalism from Jason Hickel and Yanis Varoufakis …. ‘Capitalists are the ones who determine what to produce, how to use our labour and who gets to benefit. The rest of us – the people who are actually doing the production – do not get a say.’ This is simply factually wrong because markets. Capitalists might try to direct our labour into the production of things that we out here, we consumers, might not want. The Ford Edsel, say. But when we don’t want it then the capitalists stop so directing our labour into the production of what we do not want. For if they don’t they then go bust — as the death of four out of five new attempts at capitalism show. … This is not a complicated logical proposition but it’s one that seems to entirely escape two university professors here.” (02/14/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/apparently-you-should-not-want-what-you-do-want
- Russia’s Return to the Dollar: A Non-Existing Dilemma
Source: Bitcoin.com
by Sergio Goschenko“The rumors of discussions on Russia’s return to the dollar system sparked speculation about the strength of the financial alternatives deployed to bypass sanctions. While the central bank denies being involved in such talks, the Kremlin clarified that Russia never left the dollar: it was excluded.” (02/15/26)
https://news.bitcoin.com/russias-return-to-the-dollar-a-non-existing-dilemma/
- 1761: When American Independence was Born
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Mike Maharrey“‘American Independence was then & there born. John Adams wasn’t talking about July 4, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence. He was referring to the beginning of the real American Revolution that kicked off years earlier in February 1761. That’s when James Otis Jr delivered a fiery 5-hour speech railing against the writs of assistance. While the Declaration of Independence was a seminal moment in the Revolution, it was the culmination of more than 15 years of radical changes in the minds and hearts of the people that started with Otis’s speech.” (02/13/26)
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2026/02/13/1761-when-american-independence-was-born/
- Which Party Is More Libertarian: Republicans Or Democrats?
Source: Independent Institute
by Scott Beyer“Assessing the freedom and liberty orientation of both parties on 10 key issues.” (02/13/26)
- Vladimir Putin’s finally starting to sweat; time for Trump to turn up the heat
Source: New York Post
by staff“With Vladimir Putin’s war machine sputtering, it’s time to push the Kremlin even harder to force an end to his war on Ukraine. President Donald Trump’s moves such as seizing ‘shadow fleet’ tankers and piling on new tariffs on importers of Moscow’s oil are plainly hitting hard: You can tell because Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is whining that Washington won’t make Kyiv agree to de facto surrender (e.g., Russian control over Ukraine’s post-war government) as he claims President Donald Trump had agreed to do. Why does Russia need America’s intervention, if it’s winning on the battlefield? ‘The United States has effectively declared a goal of economic domination,’ Lavrov cries — a clear sign that Putin’s feeling squeezed.” (02/14/26)
- From Good Neighbor to Bad Cop
Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland“Donald Trump’s new national security strategy placed greater emphasis on the homeland (unneeded and even ominous for the health of the U.S. republic) and the Western Hemisphere (potentially beneficial) at the expense of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Since World War II — starting with the 40-plus-year, worldwide, grandiose Cold War instituted by Harry Truman and the subsequent war on terrorism — the U.S. superpower has worried more about threats to Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East than the countries in those regions. The tragic result was unneeded wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and two wars with Iraq. And those are just the largest quagmires the United States got itself into during that period; countless smaller military interventions were conducted in far-flung countries.” (02/14/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/14/good-neighbor-bad-cop/
- Reviving a Revisionist: Clinton Hartley Grattan, Part 2
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy“Grattan highlights the propagandistic tricks that were directed at those who were neutral or critical. A lack of transparency was one of the tricks that left people unsure of the facts and so unable to argue effectively against war. Closed-door negotiations epitomized this secrecy for Grattan. Why We Fought discusses in detail the secret agreements that pushed America in the direction of war and prevented effective pushback against it. For example, the American diplomat Edward Mandell (Colonel) House negotiated a covert deal with England and France by which America pledged to intervene on the side of the Allies, although the official line was neutrality. This deal became known as the Secret Treaty. Months before the agreement was finalized, however, Wilson had campaigned and won the 1916 presidential election based on the claim that he had kept America out of the war and the promise that he would continue to do so.” (02/13/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/reviving-a-revisionist-clinton-hartley-grattan-part-2/
- How America Has Destroyed Its Democracy, Part One
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis“This is going to be a three-part series defining the following: One, what our Founders (and others of their time) thought about democracy; two, how and why they thought it would fail; three, the kind of government and society they really wanted; and four, the role that feminism has played in destroying American democracy. The Founders didn’t foresee the fourth point, but they weren’t prophets and couldn’t predict everything. They knew history, though, and women have never done to any society what feminists have done to America. There is really no historical parallel. I’ll discuss that later. I have a lot of quotes here, some rather lengthy, some not so long, but all very interesting to those who enjoy history and want to know what our Founding Fathers intended for America.” (02/14/26)
- The Coming Constitutional Ice Age
Source: Judging Freedom
by Andrew P Napolitano“Last fall during the opening of the United Nations in New York City, I recognized the face of a federal officer from his days working in law enforcement in New Jersey and mine as a trial judge. We chatted and I asked him what he was doing. He told me he worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE. I asked what ICE has to do with the U.N., and he told me that soon ICE will be everywhere. When I asked if ICE has become a paramilitary force, answerable to the White House, he just smiled, as if to say, ‘Don’t quote me.’ When I asked him why he was carrying two handguns and an AK-47 automatic rifle, he laughed and said, ‘I have more than you can see, judge!'” (02/13/26)
- A civics upskilling for Americans amid 250th celebrations
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“If there is a bona fide kickoff moment for this year’s 250th anniversary of American independence, it is Presidents Day. For the three-day holiday weekend, many institutions tied to the nation’s history offered some sort of event. George Washington’s Mount Vernon, for example, announced free admission on Feb. 16, along with ‘a stirring reading’ of ‘Washington’s Prayer for His Country.’ Yet in addition to this year’s celebratory revelry, many Americans are seeking civic repair. … One example of a desire for understanding civic responsibilities is a bipartisan bill introduced last month in Nebraska. Since 2019, teens in the state have had to pass a civics requirement to graduate. But the bill would now require new members of the state Legislature to take a 20-question civics test, much like immigrants take for United States citizenship. And the scores would be made public.” (02/13/26)
- Epstein Fallout Explodes Around the World — but Not on Team Trump
Source: The New Republic
by Malcolm Ferguson“The ripple effect of the most recent release of the Epstein files has traveled across the water, causing high-profile resignations and even criminal charges everywhere, except where they’re needed most: the White House.” (02/13/26)
https://newrepublic.com/post/206575/epstein-fallout-explodes-world-ruemmler-uae-norway-trump
- Proven Petroleum Reserves and the Myth of “Peak Oil”
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George S Giles“Just how much oil does the world have? The American Petroleum Institute (API) is considered the world leader in petroleum statistics and they set the standards the worldwide industry uses. Those good old boys from Texas have created the incredible technology that brings high quality gasoline to your neighborhood each and every day. … The proven reserves of petroleum now stands at 1.7 trillion barrels of oil, up significantly from 1.3 trillion barrels in 2009. During this 17-year interlude, some 100 million barrels per day have been consumed by the world. This is clearly a paradox for the Hubbert Peak Oil believers.” (02/13/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/proven-petroleum-reserves-and-myth-peak-oil
- Deep dive into New York’s proposals to ban demonstrations near houses of worship
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Carolyn Iodice“Core among the rights protected by the First Amendment is the right to demonstrate. No matter what our message is, whether other people are delighted or outraged by it, we get to march down the street and say our piece. This right is currently under attack in Albany. A pair of proposals, one by members of the legislature and one by Gov. Kathy Hochul, would criminalize demonstrating at many locations across the state. Here’s a deep dive into the details of these bills: what they cover, how they muzzle protesters, and why they’re unconstitutional.” (02/13/26)
https://www.thefire.org/news/deep-dive-new-yorks-proposals-ban-demonstrations-near-houses-worship
- The President Of The 0.00001 Percent
Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan“Ah yes, those famous Trump family values: money, power, rape. And once the money landed in the Trump crypto accounts, of course, government policy changed. Trump gave the UAE rare and advanced AI chips, brought the UAE into the US Stargate AI project — along with an ownership slice of TikTok — and pardoned the sleazy billionaire felon, Changpeng Zhao, who had helped seal the deal with WLF. Not just corruption, but possibly at the expense of our national security, if those UAE chips make it to the CCP. This is the real Epstein class: utterly amoral networkers and nepotists with no loyalties to anything but their absurd bank balances and party invitations. And this is their administration.” (02/13/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-president-of-the-000001-percent-36e
- Seven Billion Reasons for Facebook to Abandon its Face Recognition Plans
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Mario Trujillo“The New York Times reported that Meta is considering adding face recognition technology to its smart glasses. According to an internal Meta document, the company may launch the product ‘during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.’ This is a bad idea that Meta should abandon. If adopted and released to the public, it would violate the privacy rights of millions of people and cost the company billions of dollars in legal battles.” (02/13/26)
- Worry, Don’t Panic, Over Trump’s Efforts to Subvert the Elections
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig“Donald Trump and his administration are waging an unprecedented, multi-pronged attack on this year’s midterm congressional elections. Even compared to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the scope and severity of this assault is unprecedented. Despite all this, most — if not all — of these lines of attack will fail. They are built on magical thinking, pursued by people who lack basic understanding of how these things work. Some of these threats are more serious and pressing. But there can be a temptation to doomerism that we should reject. Trump is dangerous, but he is not omnipotent.” (02/13/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/worry-dont-panic-over-trumps-efforts
- Rubio’s spoonful of sugar helps hard medicine go down in Munich
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Eldar Mamedov“U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the Munich Security Conference this weekend to sooth transatlantic anxieties. After Vice President J.D. Vance’s criticisms of the old continent in 2025, the European dignitaries were looking for a more conventional American performance. What they got was a peculiar mix of primacist nostalgia and civilizational foreboding, with an explicit desire to forge a path of restoration together. ‘We are not looking for a rupture,’ the Secretary of State told his audience. ‘We want to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history,’ in a reference to the West. Predictably, Rubio – a neoconservative favorite in a pre-Trump GOP – ensured that it was America’s job to lead.” (02/14/26)
- Whose Money is it Anyway?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Peter Fenwick“On February 6, 2026, the Dow Jones hit a record level of 50,000. It was now 5 times its level in 1999 when it hit 10,000 for the first time. But how real has the increase been? In 1999, $10,000 would have bought you 40 ounces (oz.) of gold. In 2026, $50,000 buys you only 10oz. of gold. The fact is that in 27 years, the dollar has lost 75% of its value.” (02/13/26)
- Immigration vs. Settler Colonialism
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman“The people performing those mind-boggling contortions to justify, on libertarian grounds, state violence against migrants without papers — restrictatarians, I call them — cite a 1994 article by Murray Rothbard (1926-1995) in support of their double-jointed acrobatics. Rothbard was correct about many things, but a position is not correct merely because Rothbard held it. I expect no disagreement over that.” (02/13/26)
https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2026/02/tgif-immigration-vs-settler-colonialism.html
- How To Understand Nativism
Source: Persuasion
by Sarah Majdov“In the beginning was scarcity, and scarcity was real, and survival was a way of life. Then, somewhere along the way, abundance happened. And after abundance — or because of it — came stagnation. And that paradox besetting everyone’s life had to produce a reaction sooner or later. And now we’re in the midst of the reaction.” (02/13/26)
- Time to stop ICE’s efforts to “defenestrate” the Constitution
Source: Orange County Register
by Steven Greenhut“In authoritarian Russia, critics of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine have an odd habit of falling out of windows. These likely acts of defenestration serve as a stark warning for other critics, although the official line is usually that they tripped or committed suicide. In the democratic United States, opponents of ICE agents in Minneapolis sometimes also meet unusual fates. For instance, court documents show that ICE agents claimed Mexican immigrant Alberto Castañeda Mondragón experienced bone fractures and head injuries after he ‘purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall’ — an explanation that was disputed by the medical staff …. the Trump administration’s outrageous whoppers regarding myriad ICE incidents — that, say, victims of ICE violence were insurrectionists or terrorists — are a loyalty test. The more preposterous the claim, the more it separates blind MAGA followers from everyone else. The distortions echo the Kremlin’s approach: they’re a warning to its foes.” (02/13/26)
- America’s Future Is African
Source: Liberal Currents
by Guillaume AW Attia“The security and prosperity of nations does not depend on complete uniformity of thought, manners, or coloration.” (02/13/26)
- When speech no longer seems sufficient, part II
Source: Expression
by Samuel J Abrams“Last week, I wrote that students are beginning to treat speech as insufficient, as though persuasion is a kind of performance and disruption or violence is the only thing that works. I shared my own attempt to explain this to my students. But that lesson didn’t go as I had hoped. I left that class unsettled, and more than a little upset, realizing that so many of my students seem unmoved by the premise that words are a better alternative to force. I promised myself I would go back and try again. … I went prepared. I took more than moral exhortation. I took the best empirical record we have about political change. And I left feeling unsure that my students had even heard me.” (02/13/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/when-speech-no-longer-seems-sufficient-e3f
- Trump Turning US Into the World’s Rogue Policeman
Source: Common Dreams
by John Feffer“A mere 15 years ago, during an epoch that now seems as distant as the Paleozoic era, an American president attempted to use military power to prevent a dictator from slaughtering his own citizens. Barack Obama billed the action in Libya as a humanitarian intervention, citing the new United Nations doctrine of ‘responsibility to protect,’ or R2P. The president hoped to avert a massacre by Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi rather than, as usual, coming in afterwards to count the dead and try to bring the malefactors to justice. Obama intervened like a global police officer, following the letter of the (international) law. Eager to be seen as a ‘good cop,’ the president even promised to ‘lead from behind.’ It’s impossible to know if the US-led action did indeed prevent massive war crimes.” (02/14/26)
- Show You Care (with Econ)
Source: EconLog
by David Hebert“For someone like me, economics is everywhere, if only you know where and how to look. Where is ‘economics’ when it comes to Valentine’s Day? Here are some of the less romantic suggestions” (02/13/26)
- Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest Unwittingly Reveal the Severity of the US Surveillance State
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald“That the U.S. Surveillance State is rapidly growing to the point of ubiquity has been demonstrated over the past week by seemingly benign events. While the picture that emerges is grim, to put it mildly, at least Americans are again confronted with crystal clarity over how severe this has become. The latest round of valid panic over privacy began during the Super Bowl held on Sunday. During the game, Amazon ran a commercial for its Ring camera security system. The ad manipulatively exploited people’s love of dogs to induce them to ignore the consequences of what Amazon was touting. It seems that trick did not work.” (02/13/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/amazons-ring-and-googles-nest-unwittingly
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/14/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Kennedy CORRUPTION and the Libertarian Party.” (02/14/26)
- Unattended Baggage, episode 329
Source: Unattended Baggage
“We’re not suicidal either.” (02/14/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-329-were-not-suicidal-either
- The Good Fight, 02/14/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Daniel Diermeier on Why Universities Are Their Own Worst Enemies.” (02/14/26)
- Free Talk Live, 02/14/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Free Talk Live Valentine’s Day Jeffrey Epstein Files Deep Dive Special :: 2026-02-14 Hosts: Bonnie, Angelo, Elsbeth.” (02/14/26)
- Neon Liberalism, episode 63
Source: Liberal Currents
“Canada Fights Back, With John Banks.” (02/14/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/neon-liberalism-63-canada-fights-back-with-john-banks/
- System Update, 02/14/26
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/14/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Discussion: Case for Christian Nationalism: Roadmap to Christo-Tyranny (Ep2).” (02/14/26)
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2735
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Authors Your Left-Wing Teacher Forgot.” (02/14/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2735-authors-your-left-wing-teacher-forgot/
- Rising, 02/14/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on the recent announcement from border czar Tom Homan that the controversial immigration surge in Minnesota is coming to an end.” (02/13/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5729366-rising-february-13-2026/
- The Housing Crisis Is Destroying Homeownership — and Undermining Democracy
Source: Quillette
“Escalating house prices and density rules trap young people in renting, eroding homeownership—a key to democracy.” (02/13/26)
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 424
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Ricardo Sanchez on the politics of Chile and the new President, Jose Kast.” (02/14/26)
- Pod Save America, 02/13/26
Source: Crooked Media
“Dems Freeze ICE.” (02/13/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 02/13/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“China Buys Gold & Dumps Dollars.” (02/13/26)
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 02/14/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Utopias Are Conspiracy Theories | Ruminant.” (02/14/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/utopias-are-conspiracy-theories-ruminant/
- The Rational Egoist, 02/13/26
Source: The Rational Egoist
“Sheldon Richman joins the show for a lively and informative discussion about how freedom lovers should view immigration.” (02/13/26)
- Political Theater, 02/13/26
Source: Roll Call
“Spotlight on the National Press Club, and its new president.” (02/13/26)
https://chrt.fm/track/D3F8DG/traffic.megaphone.fm/FISCAL6405014009.mp3
- The Climate Realism Show, episode 190
Source: Heartland Institute
“The Endangerment Finding Is Dead. Here’s Why It Matters.” (02/13/26)